Words of the Week

Ipod - Oh well. I guess I'm going to start saving. Have you seen the new Ipod Touch? I know I shouldn't be so obsessed with tech stuff, but I LOVE it and I WANT it :)

Cold - I hate when my nose is running and my eyes are urning. ARGH! How am I supposed to run when I have to blow my nose constantly???

Time - Yeah. Got none. But then again - it's my last year of school and I even enjoy doing homework - because I know I'll miss it like crazy :) Ha, the nerd that I am!

And the new books (I bought all of them on Amazon.con):

Feature & Follow Friday

This week's question:

What hyped up book do you think was not worth all the talk?

Can I choose Hush Hush again? No? Okay, I'll admit it does get boring...I guess City of Bones was like that for me. Everyone was so hyped up about Cassandra Clare but the book actually didn't impress me AS much. I've read the rest of the series now, though. And I totally get it. Like totally, totally get it. By now I'd buy and read everything by Cassandra Clare.

Review: Whispers in Autumn by Trisha Leigh

Goodreads synopsis:

In 2015, a race of alien Others conquered Earth. They enslaved humanity not by force, but through an aggressive mind control that turned people into contented, unquestioning robots. 
Except sixteen-year-old Althea isn’t content at all, and she doesn’t need the mysterious note inside her locket to tell her she’s Something Else. It also warns her to trust no one, so she hides the pieces that make her different, even though it means being alone. 
The autumn she meets Lucas, everything changes. 
Althea and Lucas are immune to the alien mind control, and together they search for the reason why. What they uncover is a stunning truth the Others never anticipated, one with the potential to free the brainwashed human race. 
It’s not who they are that makes them special, but what. And what they are is a threat. One the Others are determined to eliminate for good.



Release Date: July 24, 2012
Pages: 388 (Paperback)
Series ? #1
Publisher: Create Space

LONG STORY SHORT:

Whispers in Autumn sounded good from the premise, the cover is plain beautiful and the beginning of the book convinced me that it must be epic. Well, a little bid closer to the middle I wasn't so sure anymore. I certainly liked the world building and the overall story idea, but it lacked uniqueness, suspense and plot for me.

REVIEW:

Whispers in Autumn totally had me in after I read the synopsis. The whole idea of including seasons and the elements and season-travelling into a dystopian novel sounded so original to me that I had to read it!

I was a bit disappointed, though.
I liked this book in the beginning, when the reader was introduced to the story, this whole new dystopian world. The concept of who ruled the world was very different from everything I've ever read before, but then the how was very ... unoriginal.

Whispers in Autumn reminded me a lot of Matched with the daily routine everyone has to follow and the food that's served in just the right amount and the exercise everyone has to get and how the government chooses your job for you and how Althea had to pretend she was like everyone else while she was clearly not.
The elements that could've been original - as I said the story of how the US became what it is in Whispers in Autumn or who the government really was - ended up being a blur to me. Nothing was really, clearly explained, everything came in bits and pieces that somehow made sense and somehow didn't.
What I was missing, as well, was really fast action. I mean there were a lot of incidences that increased the suspense, very crazy things happened to people and in general, but throughout the whole book there was never that moment when my hands begin to shake and I can't put the book down because there is a very bad fight or a life-saving escape or something.
The story just goes on, the situation gets kinda dangerous, the government is sorta suspicious and the time is somewhat running out for the kids.
And then the book ends and leaves us guessing what will happen next and I'm not sure yet if I want to find out.

Don't get me wrong, though. In retrospect Whispers in Autumn lacked a lot of things for me, but in general I enjoyed reading the book and it was pretty short, so that I would recommend it to people who really liked Matched and who don't need a lot of action in their dystopias.

Review: Marked by Kristin Cast and P.C Cast

Goodreads synopsis:
The House of Night series is set in a world very much like our own, except in 16-year-old Zoey Redbird's world, vampyres have always existed.  In this first book in the series, Zoey enters the House of Night, a school where, after having undergone the Change, she will train to become an adult vampire -- that is, if she makes it through the Change.  Not all of those who are chosen do.  It's tough to begin a new life, away from her parents and friends, and on top of that, Zoey finds she is no average fledgling.  She has been Marked as special by the vampyre Goddess, Nyx.  But she is not the only fledgling at the House of Night with special powers.  When she discovers that the leader of the Dark Daughters, the school's most elite club, is misusing her Goddess-given gifts, Zoey must look deep within herself for the courage to embrace her destiny--with a little help from her new vampyre friends


Release Date: May 1, 2007
Pages: 306 (Paperback)
Series? #1
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

LONG STORY SHORT:
Despite all the hype I haven't read any House of Night book yet and I wasn't even planning to do it, because
a) I usually don't care that much for vampyres
b) the whole thing seemed very fake to me
It was. Kind of fake, I mean. But in a good, enjoyable way.
So if you're able to ignore certain elements that may not be as unique in this book and are up to a light, entertaining story, I'd recommend you pick up Marked!

REVIEW:
I've heard a lot of things about the House of Night Series,but given my relatively short time of blogging, only about the latest installments and it all went pretty much like "It' s my guilty pleasure series" or "I only read it because I want to know what happens next".
But I mean there had to be reason why the series sky-rocketed in the first place so I needed to start reading it and the first book just had me in me after a few pages.

The protagonist is pretty hilarious. And by pretty I mean, very snarky and sarcastic - it's just a bit too much sometimes, there were passages I didn't find very teenager-authentic. However, the narrator is actually a plus because the book just never gets boring.

The set-up kind of feeling - sadly - joined me throughout the whole book. Zoey's situation at home and at school was cliche most of the time, the setting - especially the House of Night setting seemed just too perfect for me to be true.

Leaving all of this behind let's focus on why I am addicted to this series now:
First of all - boarding school. I'm a sucker for boarding schools, always have been! And as soon as you forget that the House of Night is way too stereotypical and unrealistic it becomes the best school you could think of! I wanna have Zoey's classes and her room and the cafeteria and their mini kitchen and all that stuff!! Also, her group of friends is way cool and not even as cliche as you would think they were.

And then, there is of course the suspense. That feeling that you just don't know who to trust. It drives me crazy and is the main reason why I need to have the second book! And the third! And all the others.

So, overall Marked is not a brilliant high-fantasy novel. But it sure comes with a ton of magical boarding school fun!

RATING: 3 out of 3 Smarties

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Books That Make You Think

1) Wintergirls by Lauria Halse Anderson
Obviously - it tackles an issue that is getting more and more common among teens - which is frightening enough to make me think!

2)Impulse by Ellen Hopkins and
3) Perfect by Ellen Hopkins
...same thing, actually. And also, it makes it clear to me that most of us worry way too much about beauty or how others see us.

4) The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
5) Partials
Because sometimes I wonder if our world is that much better for some people than the world Katniss has to live in.

6) If I Stay by Gayle Forman
It always makes me think of how I need to appreciate my family more and spend more time with them.

I can't think of any more books that seriously make me think...but to make up for it, these six really do :)

Books of the Week

All New Stories:


Sequels:


Paperbacks:




My Thoughts:
This is a lot of books! :) However, I really do have to cut back on the bookbuying ... fall is just about to come and I feel like that's the time of year when I get most excited about books! Although I love Ellen Hopkin's writing I think I won't pick up her new book right away, just because I'm really not in the mood for something heavy and I won't buy it and then let it sit on my shelf for months. As for the Firelight and Secret Circle Series...both series I'd like to start reading, so it will happen sooner or later. As for all these paperbacks here - they sound good but I'm actually not that interested. Apart from Belles, of course, which is already on my shelf (in hardback version) and which should be added to yours, as well - I loved it!

Words of the Week

School - is crazy! Honestly, it's insane how much stuff is going on right now. It almost keeps me from reading :) (okay, not really..)

Summer - notice how  I constantly talk about the weather? Well..it's really good where I live and of course now I want it to be rainy and stormy so that I -being the moody reader that I am - can finally put out all those high fantasy novels waiting for me

Bloggiesta - is not far away anymore. Anyone thinking of participating? Because I am...

Lunch - has nothing to do with this post but I mention it anyway because I'm hungry and I'm going to go and get some lunch now. Hehe.

No books for me this week - a least I didn't buy any. I did borrow three from the library and they're German but I'm going to show you one of them anyway:



Seems familiar?
:) It's the German version of Starters by Lissa Price (duh!)



Have a nice weekend!